Sushma assures Indian sailor jailed in Nigeria will be freed

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has assured all necessary steps to ensure the freedom of an Indian marine engineer who has been languishing in a Nigerian jail since October 2014, a CPI-M MP said on Tuesday.

Communist Party of India-Marxist Rajya Sabha member Ritabrata Banerjee during the day met Sushma Swaraj at parliament over the issue of Kolkata resident Jogesh Chandra Das, an employee of a shipping company, who was arrested along with other crew members after their ship allegedly entered the west African nation’s waters in violation of international law.

“Today (Tuesday) I met Sushma Swaraj and informed her about the entire matter. She said she will enquire about the matter with the Indian embassy in Nigeria. She also assured that she will do all the needful to ensure that Das along with the crew members are freed and return to India,” said Banerjee.

According to the family, Das along with 11 crew members were arrested in July 2014 and have been lodged in a prison in Yenagoa in Bayelsa state of Nigeria.

Das’ wife Soma is in the capital to plead with the central government for getting her husband free and also has threatened to hold a sit-in at Jantar Mantar if the authorities did not take any initiative in this regard.